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Thread: Two works by Poe decoded. Announcement!!

  1. #1
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    Two works by Poe decoded. Announcement!!

    Sonnet to Zante:
    Fair isle, that from the fairest of all flowers,
    Thy gentlest of all gentle names dost take!
    How many memories of what radiant hours
    At sight of thee and thine at once awake!
    How many scenes of what departed bliss!
    How many thoughts of what entombed hopes!
    How many visions of a maiden that is
    No more- no more upon thy verdant slopes!
    No more! alas, that magical sad sound
    Transforming all! Thy charms shall please no more-
    Thy memory no more! Accursed ground
    Henceforth I hold thy flower-enameled shore,
    O hyacinthine isle! O purple Zante!
    "Isola d'oro! Fior di Levante!"


    A series of coincidences brought about the decoding first of the Sonnet and, five years later, of Al Aaraaf.
    Inbetween following "classic" riddles, all interrelated and very relevant, were encounterd and finally solved:

    D'Anastasy, the "armenian" alchemy papyri collector, consul(1826-?) of Sweden and Norway to Egypt
    Cagliostro -Balsamo and "his" Rite of Mizraim
    Comte Saint Germain, minister of war of Luis XV and XVI
    The designer of the great seal of the USA, a friend and advisor of Ben.Franklin and G. Washington .
    The affair of the queen's necklace (1784-1785) that brought about the french revolution (1789-1790)
    The Stuart jewels "discovered" by Walter Scott.

    A few words on the poems themselves:
    Both refer to Zante* and "tell" on Edgar's younger and romantic years that ended some years before the Sonnet was written.
    Hence the difference in style: Aaraaf written propably 1826-28 , secretive and elaborated, lengthy, almost epic, a product of the mind, the Sonnet, written in a day, end of 1836, short and sentimental, a product of a troubled yet sincere soul mourning a death that deeply affected him.
    The Sonnet refers indeed to the death of young woman, wife of a man Poe had to contact during his diplomatic mission to the Levant early 1827. They greatly impressed Poe and hence, when he learned of the 1835 murder that included both her and other members of the man's family, his world totally collapsed.

    Will be answering posts by members who have studied Edgar's life and poetry and raise specific questions on the two poems only.
    Will not be revealing details or solutions of said riddles: A book will hopefully be published once a competent (and willing and daring) editor-publisher is found and this information will onlt be revealed there.


    *After the fall of Venice to the french, a succesion of protectors ruled the island of Zante (jacobine french and russians-allies of the Ottomans then- imperial napoleonic french and finally english 1809). Zante joined Modern Greece in 1864.
    Greece was liberated after four centuries of Ottoman occupation by the war for independence 1821-1827.
    Last edited by yanni; 12-24-2007 at 03:04 AM. Reason: text

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    mislabeling

    As a student of Poe, his works, his life and his even more revealing correspondence with friends, enemies and life time associates, after 47 years, I remain perpetually amused by the persistent attempts to add enigmatic elements and mystery to a historic personality already so singularly unique.

    Of more recent revelations to be rediscovered, among the mysterious, long lost manuscripts of Mr. Poe, are the Beale Papers as characterized by Mr. Robert Ward in his January 2002 publication, The Last Haunting of Edgar Allan Poe. I have found Mr. Ward’s work interesting, exciting and even fascinating. Alas... my own personal exposure to every readily available facet and varying scholarly opinion of Mr. Poe’s existence that I have been able lay my hands on, forces much caution in this regard.

    As to the two poems of interest, Al Aaraaf and Sonnet – To Zante, each has had several separate publications and many of these were printed with revisions, whether detailed or minor. In many printings of Al Aaraaf, only excerpts of the poem were printed. To which do you refer?

    The first appearance of this poem was in, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems in late 1829 by Hatch & Dunning of Baltimore. By Poe’s own hand, he reveals the subject of this poem as the newly discovered star that, for about 18 months, shined brighter than Jupiter before it disappeared, never to be seen again. The observer/discoverer was Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), a Danish nobleman who made significant contributions to Astronomy. His observation of this phenomenon occurred in 1572, which we now know was a supernova.

    While Poe maintained varying interests that included an astonishingly broad range of subject matter, these interests merely served to provide substance for his base passion, poetry. To Poe, no subject matter was sacred or exempt from molding and manipulation by his extraordinary grasp of the language, his gifted imagination and a profound intellect. According to Poe himself, Al Aaraaf is a place known to ‘Arabians’ as an interim existence between Heaven and Hell and located in the star of Tycho Brahe.

    You characterize Al Aaraaf as “secretive and elaborated, lengthy, almost epic, a product of the mind...” and suggest its origins may be between 1826-1828. However accurate it may be, Poe himself included this poem in his 1845 publication of The Raven and Other Poems under the section entitled ‘Poems Written in Youth’, pages 56 through 73. Your estimate would have made Poe from 17-19 years of age which appears reasonable given that our dear Edgar spent about 23 months serving from May 26 1827 to April 15, 1829 in the United States Army under the name of Edgar A Perry.

    It is certainly conceivable that serving in a peacetime posting to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina and Fort Monroe in Virginia would provide him sufficient free time to write this poem. However, while it is lengthy and comparatively elaborate (almost to the point of disjointed), in terms of its length, Poe himself later admitted in his 1846 essay, The Philosophy of Composition:

    “What we term a long poem is, in fact, merely a succession of brief ones — that is to say, of brief poetical effects.”

    Then again in his 1848 essay, The Poetic Principle:

    “I hold that a long poem does not exist. I maintain that the phrase, "a long poem," is simply a flat contradiction in terms.”

    Consequently, one would likely find that its length or its ornate or convoluted nature is indicative of nothing more than the youthful efforts of a passionate, young and brilliant dreamer to establish literary recognition of his potential talents. Likewise, anything viewed as secretive or coded within the text is likely born, not in the exquisite mind and imagination of a young Edgar Poe, but rather in the mind of the “discoverer”.

    As regarding the Sonnet – To Zante, I would agree that it is short and sentimental. That it refers to the death of a young woman and wife of a man he had met on a diplomatic mission to the Lavant in 1827 is absurd. Edgar Allan Poe left the United States only once in his lifetime on June 22, 1815 at the age of six years on the ship Lothair for England with his foster parents, John and Frances Allan and Frances’ sister Anne M. Valentine. They returned from England aboard the Martha on July 22, 1820 when Poe was eleven years of age. During this five year, one month stay, Poe is known to have been schooled in geography, spelling, Catechism and perhaps even in the classics possibly including Latin and Greek. That Poe once served as a diplomat in 1827 at the age of 18 years is ridiculous.

    By February 1837, one month after this poem appeared in the Southern Literary Messenger, Poe, with his wife and her family were living in New York.

    Best Regards,
    Last edited by Tis; 12-17-2005 at 09:05 PM.

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    My pleasure for being among connoiseurs is expressed firstly and my answer next:

    An elaborate reply by a declared Poe devotee who apparently doubts his idol's claims (that he did in fact join a "greek expedition") and therefore focuses on the detail avoiding the long view.

    Thus, your introductory : "I remain perpetually amused by the persistent attempts to add enigmatic elements and mystery to a historic personality already so singularly unique" deserving only Poe's "secrecy shall knowledge be in the environs of heaven-Al Aaraaf " and nothing else.

    Furthermore (your "comment", my -reply)

    "As to the two poems of interest, Al Aaraaf and Sonnet – To Zante, each has had several separate publications and many of these were printed with revisions, whether detailed or minor. In many printings of Al Aaraaf, only excerpts of the poem were printed. To which do you refer?"
    -The Sonnet as per text in my announcement , Al Aaraaf as per the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.

    "By Poe’s own hand, he reveals the subject of this poem as the newly discovered star that, for about 18 months, shined brighter than Jupiter before it disappeared, never to be seen again. The observer/discoverer was Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), a Danish nobleman who made significant contributions to Astronomy. His observation of this phenomenon occurred in 1572, which we now know was a supernova."
    -Not at all! The text refers to events taking place in Greece in 1827 including Navarino which Edgar witnessed on board USS Constitution. Edgar covered up his role in his "expedition to Greece" when he realised upon his return to the USA that "things" had changed.
    He does it also later on by obviously lying again for his 1825-29 whereabouts:
    [Poe provided Rufus W. Griswold with this autobiographical note for Griswold's upcoming anthology The Poets and Poetry of America (1842). MEMORANDUM. Memo. Born January, 1811. ......In 1825 went to the Jefferson University at Charlottesville, Va., where for 3 years I led a very dissipated life the college at that period being shamefully dissolute. Dr. Dunglison of Philadelphia, President. Took the first honors, however, and came home greatly in debt. Mr. A. refused to pay some of the debts of honor, and I ran away from home without a dollar on a quixotic expedition to join the Greeks, then struggling for liberty. Failed in reaching Greece, but made my way to St. Petersburg, in Russia. Got into many difficulties, but was extricated by the kindness of Mr. H. Middleton, the American consul at St. P. Came home safe in 1829.....

    "Al Aaraaf is a place known to ‘Arabians’ as an interim existence between Heaven and Hell and located in the star of Tycho Brahe."
    -By "Al Aaraaf" Edgar means Angelo the embassador (" my embassy is given") ie himself "the distant stranger" (Araf="Afar, afar the wandering star")

    "...our dear Edgar spent about 23 months serving from May 26 1827 to April 15, 1829 in the United States Army under the name of Edgar A Perry. It is certainly conceivable that serving in a peacetime posting to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina and Fort Monroe in Virginia..."
    -Planted details in abundance my dear Watson : Edgar first used the alias Henri Rennet and left the Allens early March 1827 if not earlier. (Captain Jonathan P. Miller returned to the United States in 1826 and through the efforts of the New York, he was able to collect $17,500 worth of various relief sup plies, which he look back to Greece onboard the ship "Chancellor", on March 5, 1827. The same year two more ships, "Jane" and "Six Brothers," left New York harbor bound for Greece car rying various relief supplies of $25,000 in the aggregate. At about the same time, two more shiploads of supplies totaling about $22,500 left the port of Philadelphia onboard the ships "Tontine" and "Levant," while from Boston the ship "Statesman" carried to Greece cargo worth over $ 11,500.All these relief provisions that contained food items, clothing, medical supplies and other necessi ties, were distributed primarily to the suffering Greek civilian popula tion, albeit soldiers and brigands stole some supplies upon the arrival of the cargo to Greece. On " January 2, 1827, Congressman Edward Livingston from Louisiana introduced a motion in Congress for the appropriation of $50,000 to purchase supplies for the needy people of Greece. His motion was defeated, but through private initiatives and fundraising activities $80,000 was collected in a combina tion of cash, food items and other in-kind aid.In 1827 and 1828 a total of eight shiploads of supplies and relief aid worth more than $150,000 (an extraordinary amount in today's standards) were dispatched to Greece and distributed by oversee ing officials to needy members of the civilian population)
    Quoting other web source:
    With a young friend, Ebenezer Burling, he endeavored to make his way, with scarcely a dollar in his pocket, to Greece, with the wild design of aiding in the Revolution then taking place. Burling soon repented his folly, and gave up the design when he had scarcely entered on the expedition. Mr. Poe persevered but did not succeed in reaching the scene of action; he proceeded, however, to St. Petersburgh, where, through deficiency of passport, he became involved in serious difficulties, from which he was finally extricated by the American Consul.

    "Likewise, anything viewed as secretive or coded within the text is likely born, not in the exquisite mind and imagination of a young Edgar Poe, but rather in the mind of the “discoverer”."
    -You "done it" again!

    "As regarding the Sonnet – To Zante, I would agree that it is short and sentimental. That it refers to the death of a young woman and wife of a man he had met on a diplomatic mission to the L E vant in 1827 is absurd. ... That Poe once served as a diplomat in 1827 at the age of 18 years is ridiculous."
    -Answering your decorative adjectives I advise that at least one archivial source wants his foster father Allen back in London in March 1823 together with Bentham and lords Eskin and Byron discussing with the greek representative Louriotis (of the revolutionary greek parliament) the possibility of a loan for the frigates ordered soon after to US shipyards and partly delivered later?
    Allen is described therein as a "virtuous quaker".

    Concluding:
    The web provided the means so that secrecy becomes knowledge before "the environs of heaven".
    Last edited by yanni; 03-09-2009 at 03:00 AM.

  4. #4
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    As I have already confessed my reverence for Mr. Poe’s genius in the literary arts and, in no small measure, for his extraordinary intellect for subject matter real or imagined, esoteric or simplistic, I will also readily confess that I am no Poe scholar. After 47 years of study interrupted only by a brief period in the service of my country, I have enjoyed the pleasure of exposure to a broad range of opinion. To some degree, I frequently find myself at odds with many scholars with whom I hold a profound respect and admiration. However ironic this appears, generally, these conflicts tend to more reflect a difference of perspective than any significant disparity of substance. One of these differences deals directly with your presumed allegation that I doubt the words of my own “idol”.

    In the study of any individual, particularly one of historical note, there is a persistency of failure in remaining objective, regardless of scholarship, when attempting to explain the substance of any particular attribute of the human animal. For example, while we Americans revere the genius of Thomas Jefferson in his conception of our Declaration of Independence, we also marvel at the fact that this man could have possibly conceived and written the words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,...”, and, at the same instant, hold in his possession another human being as a slave. However conflicting and hypocritical this may be, it does not diminish one bit, the fundamental truth of the observation that all men are “created equal”.

    To believe, to assert or to even suggest that I or you or anyone, need presume truth in facts as stated is as absurd as the notion that admiration for unique genius compels one to presume goodness, honesty and sublime benevolence toward all. Ridiculous! The last man to walk this planet with that measure of divinity was Jesus and, frankly, I have questions about that. In any case, these past 47 years has permitted me to be much more discriminating in my personal views toward Mr. Poe. His brief existence on this planet has been written about, debated over and taught in our schools for very near 200 years. He was neither a saint nor Satan, merely a man of uncommon genius struggling desperately for recognition among common men. That he died poor and unrewarded for his genius speaks not to the failure of Edgar Allan Poe, but rather to the dullness of his contemporaries and those of us left to adore his genius.

    I found nothing in your post to suggest a re-examination of my facts was warranted and, in all candor, your references to Captain Jonathan P. Miller appear completely disconnected with Mr. Poe in terms of direct association.

    I am quite familiar with your quote regarding a young Ebenezer Burling. The quote is from a biography of Mr. Poe published by the Baltimore Saturday Visitor on July 29, 1843 and written by Joseph E Snodgrass. A goodly portion of this biography was taken straight from another article in the Saturday Museum of Philadelphia and is chocked full of errors and misstated details, whether intentional or unintentional.

    By any judgment, the details expounded in this article can be demonstrated to be in error and misapplication through a summary review of the timing of Mr. Poe’s own correspondence, his publications and his whereabouts throughout the years in question. I would simply refer you to the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore website at http://www.eapoe.org

    In conclusion, sir, it appears I need only reassert my amusement at this repeated attempt to add mystery where none is needed. I do not expect to alter your conclusions nor do I wish to. Many decades have now passed for any number of mysteries, conspiracies and unwarranted conjecture and beliefs that still persist today in the absence of demonstrable evidence. I do not expect this to be any different, but in any case, go for it... give it all you got.

    Best Regards,
    Last edited by Tis; 12-18-2005 at 07:46 PM. Reason: misspelling

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    Avoiding evidence presented with eloquent-admittedly-verbosity, unable to support the "mislabeling" characterization you gave to the "announcement" and to justify the decorative adjectives you indirectly assigned to "yanni the greek", you then select an ironic yet hasty withdrawal from the- 47 years?- issue.
    Do you then ignore, Sir,the graces of Lygeia, the true reasons Edgar decided to include her in his excellent Al Aaraaf?
    Alas, if no real interest exists in this shrine of american literature, where then can a poor greek amateur express his innermost admiration for Mr Poe?

    Last but not least:
    To Your "By any judgment, the details expounded in this article can be demonstrated to be in error and misapplication through a summary review of the timing of Mr. Poe’s own correspondence" the folowing is sufficient evidence to the contrary:
    1827 - March 25 (letter text) RCL#015 .
    E. G. Crump (Dinwiddie Co., VA) to Poe (en route to Boston?). Stanard, pp. 52-53; Phillips, 1:270-271; Allan, 1:200; Quinn, p. 115-116. MS at DLC (Ellis-Allan). (CL41-9; CL48-15.) [Poe seems never to have received Crump's letter since he had already left John Allan's household a week earlier. On the back of the letter, John Allan wrote the note: "Edw'd G. Crump, Mar. 25 1827 [[/]] to E. A. Poe, alias Henri Le Rennet." The letter was first printed by Killis Campbell in "Unpublished Documents Relating to Poe's Early Years," Sewanee Review, April 1912, XX, pp. 201-212 (with this letter appearing on p. 209).
    1827 - March (?) RCL#015a
    Mrs. F. Allan (Richmond) to Poe (en route to Boston?) (Two letters). Noted by Whitty (1911), p. xxx; and Phillips, 1:294.

    In other words: The exact date of Edgar's departure from the Allens, ie the date for his embarkation to Greece, is seriously doubted by "the timing of Mr. Poe’s own correspondence".
    Sorry!
    Last edited by yanni; 12-20-2005 at 11:23 AM. Reason: improve text

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    As an expression of appreciation to the few members who witnessed the above exchange with the abrupt end, the interpretation of beautiful "Nesace" will follow next.

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    Who was "Nesace"?

    As "nesace" means "small island" in greek and Zante is indeed a small island then, if the old rules still apply and two thing equal to a third are also between themselves equal, Edgar by Nesace meant Zante but did his utmost to hide it hermeticaly.

    In fact he not only hides Zante behind Nesace but to further confuse the issue, he defines early in the text of Al Aaraaf that Zante is a flower or a perfume("And thy most lovely purple perfume, Zante! Isola d'oro!- Fior di Levante!")
    He furthermore invents another code name for her: "Ianthe" of Part II ("Ianthe, dearest, see- how dim that ray! How lovely 'tis to look so far away!" and " Ianthe, beauty crowded on me then, and half I wish'd to be again of men." and "But, list, Ianthe! when the air so soft, Fail'd, as my pennon'd spirit leapt aloft,Perhaps my brain grew dizzy- but the world,I left so late was into chaos hurl'd-").
    Thus
    a)the few who understood italian also knew Zante the island and "flower of the Levant" as known then but, not knowing greek, would not relate "Nesace" to Zante.
    b)the majority of his then readers and "censors" to be, spoke neither italian nor greek, ie understood nothing .
    c)For the very few that would brake the other code names, he invents Ianthe or Iante (I believe he uses this alternative also along with all the others in a version of Al Aaaraaf) to confuse them.
    Indeed very few knew then that John Polidori's origins were from Zante and that his heroess ("The Vampyre", 1821) Ianthe, sucked dry by a blood thirsty Byron, meant indeed Zante.

    Edgar personifies Nesace-Zante-Ianthe to the maiden murdered as above in the spring of 1835 on the "verdant slopes" of the island and proceeds then to disclose in english that indeed Zante, the "Fair isle, that from the fairest of all flowers..." was all along in mind.
    He then decides to curse Zante for the fate of the "fair maiden" of his romantic and heroic youth and then changes course in life by making the Sonnet the last thing he publishes before his departure from the Southern Literary Magazin January 1837.




    Poe's as well as Polidori's codes have apparently never been broken until now.

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    To the silent viewer

    Subtracting about 20 own "views" from the 182 so far of the thread and some 40 or so by Tis, and dividing the remainder 132 by, say, 6 we get 22 "silent viewers".
    Who are you, how can you remain silent if you are really interested for Edgar Poe?
    Go ahead and ask your question 'cause its getting boring here!
    Plenty more as above and better will be lost otherwise.

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    Yanni, Yanni, Yanni...

    It appears that your lack of response is troubling and, honestly, I do regret that no one has taken the time to question you proposition that Edgar Poe has left some hidden message or code or cipher or some cryptic knowledge that only you have discovered.

    Your initial premise that Edgar Poe left Richmond in early to mid March of 1827 for Boston with a young companion, Ebenezer Burling, may or may not be accurate. While I would not argue the date of his departure from Richmond, or even that he was using the name Henri Le Rennet, (Edgar was known to use other aliases as well), whether he was accompanied by an Ebenezer Burling adds nothing to your premise. It is well documented that he ended up in Baltimore, waiting for his poetic talents to be recognized.

    You have also suggested, or at least inferred, that Edgar boarded the USS Constitution in Boston bound for Greece. A simple review of the ship’s calendar and logs for the USS Constitution will reveal that this United States battle frigate arrived in New York City on May 20, 1824 after spending 3 years and 17 days as the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron having sailed from Boston, Massachusetts on May, 13, 1821 under the command of Captain Jacob Jones. There is no question of where Poe was at this time.

    Upon her return to the United States, the USS Constitution spent approximately 5.5 months in New York City before departing on October 29, 1824 under the command of Captain Thomas Macdonough and did not return to the United States until July 4, 1828. This is more than a year from March of 1827. The USS Constitution was not a cruise ship, but rather an American man-o-war. I have seen no evidence to indicate that Poe, under any pseudonym, was in the United States Navy or sailed as a private citizen aboard this ship. Consequently, you are in error.

    Why you even bother to mention Captain Jonathan P Miller at all is unfathomable. Raising money and supplies for the relief of revolutionary Greece is admirable, but you fail to tie the Captain and Edgar together in any clearly discernable manner.

    The March 25, 1827 letter from E. G. Crump proves only that Edgar owed him money and that Mr. Crump himself was unaware the Edgar had left Richmond before the letter arrived. In terms of your proposition, this is at best neutral. It suggests nothing to support your premise.

    The two letters you mention from Frances Keeling Valentine Allan to Poe dated March 1827, absolving him of guilt for his confrontation with John Allan were likely mailed to Poe’s family, known to be living in Baltimore because Poe is known to have had them in his possession at one time. They were supposedly passed to his cousin, Elizabeth Phillips by Poe, himself, following the death of Virginia Clemm Poe. Oh yes... I have also heard the long discredited tales of Poe writing his family from Europe and St. Petersburg. Neither are true and no authoritative scholars have shown these letters have ever surfaced.

    In all, I suppose, there could be any number of reasons for a lack of interest, but honestly, your premise does leave one wondering what questions to ask. It needs much more clarity. Where are you headed with this? What is the point? Why should anyone care to be interested? Why should anyone care at all? Where is evidence, the details and how does Edgar fit into them? Is this your personal interpretation of these two poems? Do you possess any reasonable firm evidence beyond wishful thinking for your premise? Do you mean to say coded text or is this simply an example of Poe’s acrostics of which he was so fond?

    In any case... I‘ll check in on you periodically to see how you are progressing. Best of luck... really!

  10. #10
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    It's good to see you back on stage, dear Tis, however transparent your "Poe enthusiast" facade has become in the meantime. With Xmas approaching and relative additional energy requirements(!), I assume both your professional(!) as well as your personal agendas are heavy, so why waste time arguing instead of exchanging greetings and presents?
    (Re your questions at he end of your last post, the answers are provided in first post of mine above)

    To the enthusiast in you-there is a part, I know- the other silent viewers and the unknown hand that corrected my small orthos-many thanks- here below is a summary of Q-A's and the solution to another subriddle of Al Aaraaf for all to enjoy.

    AL AARAAF AND THE SONNET TO ZANTE by E.A.Poe.
    How do the two poems relate?
    Both refer to Zante and "tell" on Edgar's romantic youth that ended some years before the Sonnet was written. Hence the difference in style: Aaraaf written propably 1826-28 , secretive and elaborated, lengthy, almost epic, a product of the mind, the Sonnet, written in a day, end of 1836, short and sentimental, a product of a troubled yet sincere soul mourning a death that deeply affected him.
    The Sonnet refers indeed to the death of young woman, wife of a man Poe had to contact during his diplomatic mission to the Levant early 1827. They greatly impressed Poe and hence, when he learned of the 1835 murder that included both her and other members of the man's family, his world totally collapsed.

    What inspired Edgar to write Al Aaraaf in the first place?The poem refers to events taking place in Greece in 1827 including Navarino which Edgar witnessed on board USS Constitution.

    Who says so?
    Edgar says so (see *text at the end of this post ) and so does USS Constitution's own itinerary which fully coincides with Edgar's claim to have visited Athens, the greek aegean islands and Asia Minor coast. The ship's diary further confirms various inexplicable casualties-dead and injured-after the battle on the way to Minorca, her station.

    Why did he join the greek expedition?
    At least one archivial source wants his foster father Allen back in London in March 1823 together with Bentham and lords Eskin and Byron discussing with the greek representative Louriotis (of the revolutionary greek parliament) the possibility of a loan for the frigates ordered soon after to US shipyards and partly delivered later.Allen is described therein as a "virtuous quaker".

    When and how did Edgar leave the US for Greece?
    Edgar first used the alias Henri Rennet and left the Allens early March 1827 if not earlier. (Captain Jonathan P. Miller returned to the United States in 1826 and through the efforts of the New York, he was able to collect $17,500 worth of various relief sup plies, which he look back to Greece onboard the ship "Chancellor", on March 5, 1827.

    evidence from the web:
    1827 - March 25 (letter text) RCL#015 . E. G. Crump (Dinwiddie Co., VA) to Poe (en route to Boston?). Stanard, pp. 52-53; Phillips, 1:270-271; Allan, 1:200; Quinn, p. 115-116. MS at DLC (Ellis-Allan). (CL41-9; CL48-15.) [Poe seems never to have received Crump's letter since he had already left John Allan's household a week earlier. On the back of the letter, John Allan wrote the note: "Edw'd G. Crump, Mar. 25 1827 [[/]] to E. A. Poe, alias Henri Le Rennet." The letter was first printed by Killis Campbell in "Unpublished Documents Relating to Poe's Early Years," Sewanee Review, April 1912, XX, pp. 201-212 (with this letter appearing on p. 209).
    1827 - March (?) RCL#015a Mrs. F. Allan (Richmond) to Poe (en route to Boston?) (Two letters). Noted by Whitty (1911), p. xxx; and Phillips, 1:294.

    additional evidence from the web :
    With a young friend, Ebenezer Burling, he endeavored to make his way, with scarcely a dollar in his pocket, to Greece, with the wild design of aiding in the Revolution then taking place. Burling soon repented his folly, and gave up the design when he had scarcely entered on the expedition. Mr. Poe persevered but did not succeed in reaching the scene of action; he proceeded, however, to St. Petersburgh, where, through deficiency of passport, he became involved in serious difficulties, from which he was finally extricated by the American Consul.

    Why did Edgar cover up his role later?
    Edgar covered up his role in his "expedition to Greece" when he realised upon his return to the USA that "things" had changed.
    He does it also later-on by obviously lying again for his 1825-29 whereabouts :
    (autobiographical note for Griswold's upcoming anthology The Poets and Poetry of America 1842). MEMORANDUM. Memo. Born January, 1811. ......In 1825 went to the Jefferson University at Charlottesville, Va., where for 3 years I led a very dissipated life the college at that period being shamefully dissolute.... and I ran away from home without a dollar on a quixotic expedition to join the Greeks, then struggling for liberty. Failed in reaching Greece, but made my way to St. Petersburg, in Russia. Got into many difficulties, but was extricated by the kindness of Mr. H. Middleton, the American consul at St. P. Came home safe in 1829.....

    Who was Al Aaraaf ?
    By "Al Aaraaf" Edgar means Angelo the embassador (" my embassy is given") ie himself "the distant stranger" (Araf="Afar, afar the wandering star")

    Who was Nesace?
    As "nesace" means "small island" in greek and Zante is indeed a small island, obvioulsy Edgar by Nesace meant Zante but did his utmost to hide it hermeticaly. In fact he not only hid Zante behind Nesace but, to further confuse the issue, he defined early in the text of Al Aaraaf that Zante is a flower or a perfume("And thy most lovely purple perfume, Zante! Isola d'oro!- Fior di Levante!") He furthermore invented another code name for her: "Ianthe" of Part II ("Ianthe, dearest, see- how dim that ray! How lovely 'tis to look so far away!" and " Ianthe, beauty crowded on me then, and half I wish'd to be again of men." and "But, list, Ianthe! when the air so soft, Fail'd, as my pennon'd spirit leapt aloft,Perhaps my brain grew dizzy- but the world,I left so late was into chaos hurl'd-").
    Thus
    a)the few who understood italian also knew Zante the island and "flower of the Levant" as known then but, not knowing greek, would not relate "Nesace" to Zante.
    b)the majority of his then readers and "censors" to be, spoke neither italian nor greek, ie understood nothing .
    c)For the very few that would brake the other code names, he invents Ianthe or Iante (I believe he uses this alternative also along with all the others in a version of Al Aaaraaf) to confuse them.
    Indeed very few knew then that John Polidori's origins were from Zante and that his heroess ("The Vampyre", 1821) Ianthe, sucked dry by a blood thirsty Byron, meant indeed Zante.
    Edgar personifies Nesace-Zante-Ianthe to the maiden murdered as above in the spring of 1835 on the "verdant slopes" of the island and proceeds then to disclose in english that indeed Zante, the "Fair isle, that from the fairest of all flowers..." was all along in mind.
    He then decides to curse Zante for the fate of the "fair maiden" of his romantic and heroic youth and then changes course in life by making the Sonnet the last thing he publishes before his departure from the Southern Literary Magazin January 1837.

    *What part of Al Aaraaf confirms Edgar's presence on board the USS Consitution in the sea battel of Navarino?
    Below is the most relative passage and its interpretation. It really is no "brainer" at all:

    Spirits in wing, and angels to the view,A thousand seraphs burst th' Empyrean thro'
    Young dreams still hovering on their drowsy flight-Seraphs in all but "Knowledge," the keen light
    That fell, refracted, thro' thy bounds, afar,O Death! from eye of God upon that star:
    Sweet was that error- sweeter still that death-Sweet was that error- even with us the breath
    Of Science dims the mirror of our joy-To them 'twere the Simoon, and would destroy-
    For what (to them) availeth it to know That Truth is Falsehood- or that Bliss is Woe?
    Sweet was their death- with them to die was rife With the last ecstasy of satiate life-
    Beyond that death no immortality-But sleep that pondereth and is not "to be'!-

    Interpretation:
    The "thousand seraphs" who faced the "Simoon" of the joined fleet guns and went to hell (burst th' Empyrean thro'), were really not seraphs afterall due to their ignorance (seraphs in all but "Knowledge," the keen light). It was furthermore God's own will (O Death! from eye of God upon that star) that made "our" guilt lighter and saved "our" lifes (Sweet was that error- sweeter still that death), "they" were infidels anyway whose faith did not promise life after death (Beyond that death no immortality) their lives did not "count" the same as "ours",..
    (Edgar's youth is evident: He doesn't know that Paradise is common to christians and muslims alike).

    The phrase "even with us the breath Of Science dims the mirror of our joy" tells of Edgar' s sadness for the sudden break up of diplomatic relations with Egypt, the "source of science" as it was widely believed then. Edgar' s "Tale of a mummy" is indicatory.


    Merry Xmas and a happy New Year.
    Last edited by yanni; 12-24-2005 at 11:33 AM. Reason: insert bold type

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    Yanni…

    I sincerely regret that you feel that my questions are argumentative, I certainly do not intend them to be. However, if one is to assume you wish to publish your conclusions as non-fiction, I find it incredibly astonishing that you can seriously expect anyone, much less any serious fan of Poe, to presume facts based on conjecture and your own personal interpretations.

    But, just so I understand this correctly. By your persistent repetition of undocumented ‘facts’ already offered and by repeating them frequently enough, is it the case that you expect others to accept, as valid, your proposition that Edgar sailed from Boston aboard the USS Constitution (an American warship) in very early March of 1827?

    This is simply impossible because the USS Constitution left New York City on October 29, 1824 to serve as the flagship of the United States Mediterranean Squadron under the Command of Captain Thomas Macdonough. (Poe would have been about 15) The USS Constitution did not return to the United States until she pulled into Boston harbor on July 4, 1828 under the command of Captain Daniel Todd Patterson, Captain Macdonough having died at sea on a voyage back from Greece on a separate ship. The USS Constitution had not seen America in 3 years and 8 months.

    Of course, since you know this proposition conflicts with the USS Constitution's calendar and log and, therefore, cannot possibly be true, your mention of Captain Jonathan P. Miller of the sailing ship “Chancellor” merely offers a vague inference that Edgar left Boston aboard the “Chancellor” on March 5, 1827, presumably under the pseudonym of Henri Le Rennet. Further, you suggest Poe, alias Rennet, left the “Chancellor” and was aboard the USS Constitution to witness the Revolution in Greece. Yet, there is substantial documentation to counter this claim while you continue to offer nothing to refute it beyond your own supposition.

    This name Henri Le Rennet is a well known alias and French corruption of his brother’s name (William Henry Leonard Poe) that Edgar used to obscure his identity from gambling debts and possibly, even the law while he stayed in Baltimore before joining the Army. Secondly, the “Chancellor”, after sailing from Greece, arrived in Boston, not in Baltimore and Edgar is known to have been in Baltimore from early March through at least May 26, 1827. Your suggestion that he boarded the “Chancellor” is purely supposition and wishful conjecture for Poe is known to have been in Baltimore until he joined the United States Army under the name of Edgar A Perry.

    How do we know he was in Baltimore? Sometime between early March and May 26, 1827, Poe personally wrote two untitled poems in the albums of Ms. Margaret Bassett and Ms. Octavia Walton, both of Baltimore. In addition, on October 20, 1827, one of Edgar’s poems, “Extract – Dreams” signed W. H. P. (his brother), is published in the Baltimore North American, while Edgar is known to be at Fort Independence, and not aboard the “Chancellor” headed for Greece.

    Upon his five year enlistment, Edgar is sent to Fort Independence in Boston Harbor and assigned to Battery H of the 1st Artillery. His enlistment records show him as 5 ft. 8 in. in height, with grey eyes, brown hair and fair complexion. He lied about his age as 22 years, but he was actually only 18. His date of enlistment is 21 days or more after Jonathan P Miller has sailed for Greece on March 5, 1827. Poe remained at Fort Independence until October 31, 1827 when his unit was reassigned and set sail aboard the Brigantine "Waltham” and arrived at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island in Charleston, South Carolina on November 18, 1827.

    How do we know he was in Boston? Poe had a booklet of poems published in Boston by Calvin F. S Thomas entitled Tamerlane and Other Poems under the name, ‘A Bostonian’. There were about 50 copies printed to be freely distributed. Today, only 12 copies are now known to exist.

    From November 18, 1827 until December 10, 1827 Poe was stationed at Fort Moultrie where he is promoted to artificer and has his pay doubled to $10/month. On December 11, 1827 his battery sets sail for Fort Monroe in Old Point Comfort, Virginia and arrives on December 15, 1828. Here Poe attains the rank of Regimental Sergeant-Major. Poe remained in the military until his release on April 15, 1829.

    These facts are very well documented and published by multiple scholars and directly conflict with your assumptions that appear, at best, wishful thinking, best guesses, and blind acceptance of facts not evidenced by material fact. You provide no material evidence beyond your own interpretations that, themselves, are at odds with the expressed intention of Edgar Allan Poe himself. As proof, see Poe’s letter to Isaac Lea dated May11-27, 1829, in which he clarifies the intent of Al Aaraaf.

    Yanni, you are certainly free and welcome to express your own interpretations of the two poems in question. However, these are merely interpretations based on supposition and to offer them as anything more demands much more convincing evidence than you are offering here. Again, I regret that you feel this view is argumentative, but if you are truly hopeful of finding an enthusiastic publisher, you will need much more proof than you are offering here.

    In any case, please accept my best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a healthful and Happy New Year.

    Warm Regards,

  12. #12
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    If I miss Xmas shopping it'll be your fault!

    I never said that Edgar left the US for Greece onboard the "Constitution", so why waste half of your posts and most of your arguments saying I did?
    (the question has already become rhetoric but I'll answer it once more)

    From the start I maintained that he arrived somehow privately in Greece, possibly by Miller's "Chancellor" or by another boat and, as he writes in Al Aaraaf, visited Athens and the Parthenon, the greek isles and the coast of Asia Minor, then witnessed Navarino and propably returned to the US on board the Constitution.
    You are asking me to provise "concrete evidence"-propably a receipt for money paid for his passage huh?-for what purpose exactly? To contradict what Edgar himself writes?
    The mere fact that there has never-ever been an interpretation for Al Aaraaf- apart from the "astronomer Tycho Brahe observation of a supernova", in itself not an interpretation but a confession of inability to understand the poem - or The Sonnet to Zante is not evidence enough?

    Bypassing yourself evidence presented re Allen's involvement in the greek frigates order, you then insist on Edgar's Baltimore presence yet "evidence" provided is slim at best : "S o m e t i m e between early March and May 26, 1827, Poe personally wrote two untitled poems in the albums of Ms. Margaret Bassett and Ms. Octavia Walton, both of Baltimore" and does not become any firmer by a poem published by his brother on October 20, 1827.
    His presence then in Boston is neither established nor required by the first, much debated, publication of Tamerlane and Other Poems by Calvin F. S Thomas "sometime" in 1827.
    No evidence is thus available contradicting Edgar's "greek expedition" claim !
    Coming back to his presence on board the "Constitution":
    The ships diary includes all ports described by Edgar in his Al Aaraaf:
    The ship leaves Minorca end of February and passing by Al Aaraaf's "fair capo Ducato" and Zante in the Ionian sea enters the Aegean early March, anchors in the island of Milos-(whence sprang the "Idea of Beauty" into birth"-Venus statue discoverd there in 1820) for a month, visits shortly Napoli di Morea in April (propably to recover the body of George Townsend Washington, a relative of the first US president, killed then in the greek civil war), visits then Chio and Efessos early May, Aegina May 10th, Athens May 14-17th, Paros May 17-21th, Petsai-Tsirigo May 29-31st, then back Smyrne June 8th where it "seems to" be on a holiday stationed until the middle of November..
    ...while in the meantime however
    October 1827 batle of Navarino (and subsequent mop up as the enemy fled south)
    Ship's diary:
    07 Dec 1827-Departed Tunis, Tunisia.
    13 Dec 1827-Seaman Owen Sullivan died "of debility" and was buried at sea. (Also reported as having occurred on the 11th.)
    31 Dec. 1827-Lieutenant George B. McCulloch died "of disease" and was buried ashore in Port Mahon, Minorca, the next day.
    07 Feb 1828-Ordinary Seaman Nicholas Post died of consumption and was buried ashore in Port Mahon, Minorca.
    12 Feb 1828-Seaman Joseph Williams drowned while attempting desertion; when found on 27th, body interred ashore in Port Mahon, Minorca.
    01 Apr 1828-Purser John B. Timberlake died of consumption and was buried ashore in Port Mahon, Minorca.
    04 Apr 1828-Seaman W. Staples died "of the effects of intoxication."
    07 Apr 1828-Midshipman Henry K. Mower died.
    09 Apr 1828-Midshipman J. Hoover died and was buried ashore with full honors in Port Mahon, Minorca.
    29 Apr 1828-Departed Port Mahon, Minorca.
    02 May 1828-Seaman Michael Flynn died and was buried at sea off Malaga, Spain.
    09 May 1828-Arrived at Gibraltar.
    12 May 1828-Seaman Nathaniel Carin had his right leg amputated for unspecified reasons.
    13 May 1828-Seaman Nathaniel Carin died a day after having his right leg amputated.
    23 May 1828-Departed Gibraltar, ending tour as Flagship, Mediterranean Squadron.
    04 Jul 1828-Arrived at Boston, MA.
    19 Jul 1828-captain Daniel Todd Patterson placed the ship in ordinary at Boston, MA.

    "On January 1, 1829, Poe, still serving under the name of Perry, was promoted to Sergeant-Major of his regiment, the highest rank open to an enlisted man."

    For his military records confirming or not his participation one would assume that a cover would be provided for Mr Perry if indeed he was acting covertly as "angelo" suggests.
    There is furthermore is a highly conspicuous discrepancy in his promotion to "the highest rank open to an enlisted man" rarely awarded to someone doing simply "garrison duty two and a half years as an enlisted man at Ft. Moultrie, S. C" a poet-soldier who "....had a good deal of spare time on his hands which was evidently spent in wandering along the beaches, writing poetry, and reading. His military duties were light and wholly clerical.....",

    There seems also something to be wrong in your info "December 11, 1827 his battery sets sail for Fort Monroe in Old Point Comfort, Virginia and arrives on December 15, 1828" (Where did they go for a year if not to relieve, recrew the Constitution?) but it is immaterial.

    I was not able to find "Poe’s letter to Isaac Lea dated May11-27, 1829, in which he clarifies the intent of Al Aaraaf " on the web, please provide details.
    Interesting that while in Baltimore(May, 1829, to the end of year) , he first contacts "William Wirt, just retired from active political life in Washington, author of "Letters of a British Spy," and a man of considerable literary reputation. Poe left with Wirt the manuscript of "Al Aaraaf" and received from him a letter of advice rather than recommendation" Edgar then "...went to Philadelphia and left the manuscript with Carey, Lea and Carey, a then famous publishing firm" who had some objections thus Edgar "...By July 28th ...wrote to Carey, Lea and Carey withdrawing the manuscript" so "..The book itself, entitled Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems, was published by Hatch and Dunning in Baltimore in December, 1829".

    Concluding:
     You neither have, nor do you exhibit the interest to obtain, the interpretation of Al Aaraaf and The Sonnet to Zante. The "graces of Ligeia", suggested by both Edgar and myself, have not yet been received apparently.
     However great my pleasure was to have intepreted his two specific works, my subject has never been really Edgar but the riddles of my first post above he helped me solve, so fundamental in fact that I would not at all be surprised if publishers reject their publishing.
     Afterall "les philalethes" and the "nine Muses", where Benj.Franklin, Paul Jones and possibly Thomas Jefferson were initiated by *******, are "out" eversince the "Enlightment" became just another italian word.

    No hard feelings and again my best wishes
    Last edited by yanni; 12-24-2005 at 11:38 AM. Reason: more orthos corrections

  13. #13
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    No hard feelings at all, Yanni. As a matter of course, I find nothing particularly harmful in this with the single amusing exception that you’re alleged “cover up” by Poe is so little different that the seemingly limitless conspiracies that pervade the internet and are as equitably silly as flying saucers and mysterious men behind a grassy knoll.

    In the absence of anything substantive, beyond your personal interpretation of two poems from a brilliant and imaginative 19th century mind, you have suggested that Edgar Allan Poe was aboard the USS Constitution while it was serving as the flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron during the Greek Revolution. Further, you have suggested that these two poems, themselves, provide the evidence to support your conclusion. When asked to provide objective evidence, it becomes clear that the proof is based merely upon your personal interpretation of the poems when joined with disconnected and circumstantial documentation of ships logs of the USS Constitution known to be in the Mediterranean during this period.

    If true, this in and of itself, would constitute a significant shift in the historical understanding of the life of one of America’s most influential authors, poets and literary critics. If true, it could further explain the man behind a brilliant mind. Consequently, you, as a hopeful author of this proposition, must be held accountable to establish the reasonableness of the proposition. You have not and then you suggest that anyone who is at odds with you is being argumentative.

    In this forum, I have already confessed my lack of certification as an expert. However, as a student of Poe and one that has held his works in the highest regard for several decades now, my understanding of Poe, his works and the historical account of his life directly conflicts with your interpretations. When asked to provide more substantive evidence, you persistently repeat interpretations or offer documentation that is, at best, neutral and proves nothing.

    As regards the USS Constitution, it was your own lack of clarity and failure to definitively tie Edgar Poe and Captain Jonathan P Miller in the beginning that is directly responsible for the my misinterpretation that Poe sailed on the USS Constitution.

    When I offer documented historical evidence, evidence generally accepted by scholars, you simply dismiss it as evidence of a cover-up by Poe himself without explanation. You then point to some reference regarding John Allan as proof that he loaned money for the construction of frigates and is referred to as “a virtuous Quaker”. John Allan, as a wealthy merchant trader, was frequently solicited for loans and these solicitations provide no clear connection to Edgar. As to Allan being a Quaker, John Allan was raised as a Scottish Presbyterian but most indications are that he was not especially religious at all and only rarely attended church services with his wife, Frances, who regularly attended at the Monumental Episcopal Church, built in 1814, where John Allan, himself, purchased pew number 80 for $340. In fact, it is at this church that Edgar is thought to have been baptized with ‘Allan’ as his middle name by Reverend John Buchanan on January 7, 1812.

    In your previous post you said...

    “There seems also something to be wrong in your info "December 11, 1827 his battery sets sail for Fort Monroe in Old Point Comfort, Virginia and arrives on December 15, 1828" (Where did they go for a year if not to relieve, recrew the Constitution?) but it is immaterial.”

    You are quite right, Yanni... There was an error and I regret that it was mine. I happily apologize for my own mistyping of the date December 11, 1827, for it clearly should have read, December 11, 1828. This 4 day trip from Fort Moultrie, South Carolina to Fort Monroe, Virginia is certainly very reasonable period for a trip of few hundred miles. However, it is not reasonable to presume that the United States Army’s Battery H, 1st Artillery was asked to relieved the United States Naval crew of the USS Constitution. But... you recognized this immediately and suggested it was “immaterial”. It is immaterial to anyone who wishes to dismiss as a cover up, Poe’s time in the military service because it is directly at odds with their assertion.

    As regards the letter from Edgar Poe to Mr. Isaac Lea of May 11-27, 1829, it may be found on the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore website at http://www.eapoe.org/works/letters/p2905110.htm . In this letter, Poe clearly characterizes the inspiration for Al Aaraaf as the disappearing star observed by Tycho Brahe. In this letter, Poe may be being deceptive, which he was known to do for his own benefit, but there is nothing to suggest a premeditated cover up to hide that fact that he had been aboard the USS Constitution or his prior presence in Athens or anywhere else. Who was he trying to deceive and why?

    Your repeated suggestion that, perhaps, Edgar had sailed with Jonathan P Miller aboard the “Chancellor” on March 5, 1827 for Athens and other ports of call and then, at some point, ended up aboard the USS Constitution, remains unfounded. I had some difficulty finding it again but I had recalled a set of letters Edgar had exchanged with John Allan in March of 1827 referencing their personal argument over Poe’s behavior and debts. It is interesting to note the dates and from where these letter had been posted.

    Edgar A. Poe to John Allan, Monday, March 19, 1827 from Richmond. (14 days after the “Chancellor” sailed)
    Edgar A. Poe to John Allan, Tuesday, March 20, 1827 from Richmond. (15 days after the “Chancellor” sailed)
    John Allan to Edgar A. Poe, Tuesday, March 20, 1827 in Richmond but remained un-mailed.

    These three letters clearly confirm that Poe was in Richmond at least 15 days after Captain Jonathan P Miller sailed for Greece and did not sail with the “Chancellor”. All three letters are in the possession of the Valentine Museum in Richmond, Virginia and the transcriptions can be found at the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. Even the letter from Edward Crump to Poe dated the 25th of March, 1827 confirms the subject matter of Poe’s and John Allan’s exchange of letters.

    You said:

    “You neither have, nor do you exhibit the interest to obtain, the interpretation of Al Aaraaf and The Sonnet to Zante. The "graces of Ligeia", suggested by both Edgar and myself, have not yet been received apparently.”

    I do have Edgar’s interpretation in his own words, which is at odds with yours. You are quite right, however, I’m not interested in yours.

    You said:

    “However great my pleasure was to have intepreted [sic] his two specific works, my subject has never been really Edgar but the riddles of my first post above he helped me solve, so fundamental in fact that I would not at all be surprised if publishers reject their publishing.”

    In the absence of substantive evidence, I wouldn’t be surprised either.

    You said:

    "After all "les philalethes" and the "nine Muses", where Benj. Franklin, Paul Jones and possibly Thomas Jefferson were initiated by *******, are "out" ever since the "Enlightment" became just another italian word."

    Perhaps you're right, and perhaps, among the daughters of Zeus, it is Calliope and Erato we may all miss the most.

    Again, no hard feelings at all, I have enjoyed our exchange. Should you succeed in finding a publisher, and I truly wish you well, best of luck. It has been interesting. Please accept my final and...

    Sincere Regards...

  14. #14
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    Timeo Edgar-Danaos et dona ferentes???

    "Sticking" like epoxy glue to the official line, Tis the engineer and Poe enthusiast, takes his leave to join Santa Claus while dismissing E.A.Poe's own claim (to have participated to the greek expedition) and proclaiming at the same time his uttermost disinterest on the conclusive (to the contrary of the official line) interpretation of Al Aaraaf by a "yanni the greek".
    Farewell Tis my friend, see you next year and may Ligeia, the greek siren, grace you with her charms then.
    "En passant" to his latest dramatic stage exit-hopefully not a "grand finale"-Tis did confess however his difficulty to comprehend another part of his hero's story and placed the obliging inquiry below.

    Tis's inquiry "As regards the letter from Edgar Poe to Mr. Isaac Lea of May 11-27, 1829...In this letter, Poe clearly characterizes the inspiration for Al Aaraaf as the disappearing star observed by Tycho Brahe. In this letter, Poe may be being deceptive, which he was known to do for his own benefit, but there is nothing to suggest a premeditated cover up to hide that fact that he had been aboard the USS Constitution or his prior presence in Athens or anywhere else. [B]Who was he trying to deceive and why?"[/B]

    The answer:
    On his return to the US Edgar was already aware that "things" had changed: With the governemental change, the foreign policy also changed and Nic. Biddle's "National Bank" was attacked by Jackson.
    (Two main parties existed then in the US, the "pros" and the "against" Britain. Edgar, with a Lafayette "enlightened french" connection, like all presidents until then, and his heroic grandfather, belonged very clearly to the "against" party.)
    To Edgar's dismay the "pros" gained control. He was permanently out of favor thereafter and hence the "official" line not allowing Al Aaraaf's interpretation .
    (More details can be made available if need be, particularly re Edgar's conclusive relations to Biddle and his Port-folio club.)
    The poem being full of relative "messages", clever politician Wirt, another "against", advised Edgar not to publish Al Aaraaf. Our hero having spent a lot of time and effort to write the poem however, he came to the idea that by removing the last part, thus hiding Lemnos (the island's actual geographic location- on Tycho's supernova naturally(!)-and military uniqueness can be seen on the map even by the blindest of "scholars" then and now) the other "messages" would go unnoticed by Messrs Carey-Lea-Carey who he met next. They were not so dumb however and despite his plights for the "extraordinary disadvantageous circumstances" under which the poem was written (Edgar disclosing obviously his pride for his greek expedition, see quote below) and deceptive relative fairy tale on the "stary" poems contents, refused to publish it.

    quote:
    "I should add a circumstance which, that no justification of a failure, is yet a boast in success -- the poem is by a minor & truly written under extraordinary disadvantages."


    The "Lemnos message" already prepackaged in code by Edgar.....

    "Ianthe, dearest, see- how dim that ray!
    How lovely 'tis to look so far away!
    She seem'd not thus upon that autumn eve
    I left her gorgeous halls- nor mourn'd to leave.
    That eve- that eve- I should remember well-
    The sun-ray dropp'd in Lemnos, with a spell
    On th' arabesque carving of a gilded hall
    Wherein I sate, and on the draperied wall-
    And on my eyelids- O the heavy light!
    How drowsily it weigh'd them into night!
    On flowers, before, and mist, and love they ran
    With Persian Saadi in his Gulistan:
    But O that light!- I slumber'd- Death, the while,
    Stole o'er my senses in that lovely isle
    So softly that no single silken hair
    Awoke that slept- or knew that he was there.


    ....will be unwrapped after New Year along with Edgar's "coded" call on Ligeia.

    Merry Xmas all and thanks for your attention.

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    POE's LIGEIA, Part I.

    POE'S LIGEIA

    PART I

    Besides Ianthe, Ligeia is another greek lady's name that E.A.Poe uses. He first inserts it in his epic Al Aaraaf of 1827-8 and then in prose LIGEIA written 1837-1838 which commences as follows.

    And I thought, as I gazed upon the corpse , of the wild passage in Joseph Glanvill: "The will therein lieth, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries of the will, with its vigor? For God is but a great will pervading all things by nature of its intentness. Man doth not yield him to the angels, nor unto death utterly, save only through the weakness of his feeble will." She died — and I, crushed into the very dust with sorrow, could no longer endure the lonely desolation...
    I CANNOT, for my soul, remember how, when, or even precisely where, I first became acquainted with the lady Ligeia. Long years have since elapsed, and my memory is feeble through much suffering. Or, perhaps, I cannot now bring these points to mind, because, in truth, the character of my beloved, her rare learning, her singular yet placid cast of beauty, and the thrilling and enthralling eloquence of her low musical language, made their way into my heart by paces so steadily and stealthily progressive that they have been unnoticed and unknown.


    Who was Ligeia?
    Let's first examine the lady's mythological and etymological aspect:
    In ancient greek times Ligeia, the daughter of river Acheloos and a Muse, was a naiad (water nymph) and a siren with a handicap: While the voices of all her other sister-sirens were so pleasant as to make mortals loose their sense of time and orientation, her voice was shrilly, earpiercing, she was hence considered an outcast then.
    The sirens died along with ancient Greece but fortunately the greek language did not and so carried within to the present time part of the ancient mythos including Ligeia. Time has been kind apparently and so modern greek Ligeia's voice has mellowed. She is furthermore known to use it today, very convincingly, to persuade the mortals to yield, to bend their egoism and backbone, to succumb to "God's" superior will and power.
    Hence the modern greek adjectives "Lygeros, lygere", depicting he or she who is slender and flexible and "lygo" (gamma, omega) or "lygiso", verbs meaning to bend (active) or being bend (passive) ie to yield, give-in or surrender to a greater force.
    The name itself is often written today with an y-grk L Y G E I A.
    So there are two Ligeias to choose from.

    Which of the two Ligeias was Edgar thinking of when writing Al Aaraaf?Edgar selects to place Angelo's call to Ligeia before the battle of Navarino (the "thousand Seraphs" passage already interpreted) as follows:

    Some have left the cool glade, and have slept with the bee-
    Arouse them, my maiden, On moorland and lea-
    Go! breathe on their slumber, All softly in ear,
    Thy musical number They slumbered to hear
    For what can awaken An angel so soon,
    Whose sleep hath been taken Beneath the cold moon,
    As the spell which no slumber Of witchery may test,
    The rhythmical number Which lull'd him to rest?"


    and continues:

    Spirits in wing, and angels to the view,
    A thousand seraphs burst th' Empyrean thro'


    The "soft breathing" quality he gives to her voice and the role he assigns to her (to persuade the weaker of the two sides to give-in to the stronger before the battle) are already clear indications that it is the modern greek siren he speaks about. As if these were not enough however, later on in his life he further relates his Ligeia to the specific "wild" passage from Joseph Glanvill above. (A different LIGEIA is in his mind then again but we'll come to that later on).
    He makes thus very evident that the modern greek Ligeia with the soft voice and the bending powers was in his mind when Al Aaraaf was written.
    Al Aaraaf's Ligeia is the modern greek siren, very much alive and fully enpowered then to act as an intermediary. Angelo-Edgar calls her repeatedly to "do her thing". She apparently fails to do so, thus he is obliged himself to warn Nesace-Ianthe but in vain as the spell cast upon her in "Lemnos" is stronger.
    Whereas any two odd modern greek words could normally be defined as mere indications of the debated presence of an american in Greece then, the use he makes in Al Aaraaf of "Ligeia" and "Nesace", two "difficult" modern greek words, his deep knowledge, precise use and later particular definition of his LIGEIA, is evidence indeed that Edgar learned these two words very clearly in situ, not through his limited tuition in ancient greek or his non existant "leisurly barrack" service in the US army .

    end of Part I
    Last edited by yanni; 02-04-2006 at 11:37 AM.

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